The Week That Never Was
by lucy ward- the dreaming child
Summary: Mourning the loss of his companions the doctor lands in victorian london. But something is stirring in the heart of the city that threatens the very fabric of time itself. Featuring victorian clara as companion, taking place before the events of The Snowmen.
1. prologue

Smoke curled its way round the rooftops, a serpentine veil shrouding the city in a singular darkness. Were it not for the admittedly few street lamps it would have been entirely impossible to see. On nights like these, nights that were quite noticeably becoming something of a regular occurrence, it was very easy to lose ones way in the winding streets and alleyways, each cobbled street barely distinguishable from the last. Only a fool would attempt to navigate them on such a night by running. Only a fool, or someone with something to run from. Of course, it is worth pointing out that everyone ends up running at some point, none more so than the weary traveller who had just arrived. He had been here before, on several occasions in the past, but never like this, never with such anger and regret. Having wandered the stars for a thousand years, he had many regrets, but none ached quite like this. He had witnessed millions of lives be extinguished, a great many by his own hand, he had loved and lost countless times. It had happened again, despite his best efforts, he was unable to undo what had been done. His time with the Ponds was precious to him, as was his time with all of his "companions," but no matter what; they always seemed to slip away too soon.  
He gritted his teeth as he stepped out of the box, the ever-present blue box, wherever he went, the box would be there too. The lonely man wandered the deserted street before stopping in front a towering building, arguably blacker than the clouds that currently swallowed the sky. The sign that hung above the door was impossible to make out, its words lost against the blackness of the night, but he knew this was the place. He took one last glance around the empty street before entering. Upon doing so he was greeted by a man, whose red face was partially hidden behind a giant moustache. "I trust your name is on the guest list?" he asked with more than a hint of snobbery.  
"I should expect so, I'm always on the list, should be under the name john smith," he spoke quickly, his eyes darting about the poorly lit room, searching for her, the veiled woman.  
"There is no john smith on the list sir, I'm afraid I shall have to ask you to leave."  
"WHAT!?" the moustached man now had his full attention, "what do you mean I'm not on the list I am always on the list! Check under doctor!."  
"Doctor who sir? " replied the ruddy faced gentleman, his patience clearly running out where this bizarre young man was concerned.  
"The doctor, just the doctor, that's my name: The Doctor"  
"We have a great deal of doctors who visit this establishment, you sir, are clearly not one of them, good day."  
The man began attempting to force the doctor out of the door, when a voice came from the back of the room.  
"Now now Mr Brewer, surely this is not how you treat your guests?"  
"Madam this man's name is NOT on the guest list"  
"Perhaps not, but mine is, and if my memory serves me right, guests are permitted a "plus - one"  
The man who had been identified as Mr Brewer let go of The Doctor, mumbled something under his breath and proceeded to storm out of the room. The doctor straightened his bowtie, he and the veiled woman where now alone. "You have returned far sooner than I had anticipated, has something happened?" She asked.  
"No," he replied, a deep frown fell across his face, "nothing ever happens anymore, as well you know."  
"Of course, and professor song, Is she…"  
"Fine, she's fine, for now, not that it matters in the end" he cut in, signalling that he had no desire to talk of what he had lost and had yet to lose. He walked slowly towards the veiled figure, his cold eyes giving her his full attention. As he drew closer she lifted the veil, beneath it her face, revealed in the flickering candlelight, made up an intricate formation of green scales. "Is there a reason we are meeting here, and not at your home….Madam Vastra?"  
"Now what would make you say that?" she purred  
"Oh there has to be a reason, there always is a reason, and this is miles away from your home so!," he spun around to face her, "what is the reason?."  
She paused for a moment before speaking, carefully considering her words, "In spite of your assertion that nothing happens anymore, it has become apparent that something is indeed happening, right here in London."  
"And what do you expect me to do about it? Help? Rush in a fix everything, just like the old days? No, those days are gone, my time solving the universe's problems is over."  
"So you are saying you are prepared to allow the universe to fall to pieces and not lift a finger to help, I find that very hard to believe," her stare was so intense that the doctor could feel her eyes bearing into him.  
"Why don't you investigate, isn't that what you do now? You, jenny and the potato?."  
"Who am I speaking to, this man before me is not the doctor I know, the doctor I know would never so willingly put his friends in harm's way."  
"Aaaarggh, but don't you see, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter what I do, people always die, good people, I can never save them all…I couldn't even save THEM!."  
His voice crackled as his spoke; in that moment it was as if all the pain of all he had lost was etched into his very skin. They remained silent for several minutes, then finally the doctor turned towards the door, as he stepped outside he looked up at the blackened sky and sighed.  
"Goodbye," he said with a tip of his hat and then he was gone.  
Mr Brewer shuffled back into the room, "He has taken his leave then I assume?," he said, barley masking his contempt.  
"It would appear so, I must work quickly…for if I should fail, we may all be well beyond saving," As she spoke, it seemed the urgency of her task was pulling her out into the night, propelling her on her way, she pulled down her veil and as she stepped through the doorway, she knew her most important mission of all had begun. In order to save the world, she must first save the doctor.

xXx

Clara awoke suddenly, bolting upright. A chill hung in the air, there was something niggling in the back of her mind, something important that should could not put her finger on. She knew she had been dreaming, that was what had caused her to wake so suddenly, yet she could not fully recall the dream, save for one small detail. Blue. What was so special about the colour blue?. She gazed out of the window, though she could see nothing, she felt a sensation of unease and anticipation drift over her as she did. Morning was closing in fast, it was Sunday the 18th of December 1892, and Clara Oswin Oswald was currently unaware that her life was to be changed dramatically over the course of the next week, nor did she know that it would be her last. She pulled the covers tight and closed her eyes in an attempt to sneak a few more hours of sleep before the morning and as her consciousness slipped away she began to dream, and as she dreamt she began to fall, down and down, through a never ending tunnel of light, she could hear voices, voices she had never in her life heard before, and yet, so familiar to her. As she continued spin round and round in this unknown vortex a face began to appear before her eyes, and though she had never seen this man before, she felt a sudden rush of nostalgic emotion, she felt a single tear drip softly over her cheek. She had no idea why she was crying, she had never seen this man before, she did not know him, it was just a dream. And yet she felt as if she did indeed know the man. Then the face of the man she did not know looked her straight in the eyes and spoke a single word. A word that sent a chill through her body. A word she had not expected to be said. That word was… "Clara."  
She awoke once again, by now the shadow of the night had given way to the day; the sunlight crawled through Clara's window. She ran the dream through over and over in her head, what did it mean?. Why had her dream seemed so real, why was she dreaming of a man she had never met and how did he know her name. Who was the mysterious man with the peculiar chin?.


	2. Chapter 1: A Darkness stirs

The night was drawing to a close as Madam Vastra neared her home. She had elected to walk, to give herself time to think about what it was she would do. The doctor had never been the same since that night. It is practically unheard of, the doctor making social calls; such honours were reserved for the likes of River Song only. But there he had been, with a face awash with grief and rage. His long time travelling companions, Amy Pond and Rory Williams were, in effect, dead. Lost in a time the doctor could not enter, victims of the fabled weeping angels. She herself had encountered them once, and had barely escaped with her life, indeed she would not have done were it not for The Doctor. He had saved her life and the life of every other living creature on the planet countless times. She did not intend for him to grieve alone. He had made it expressly clear that he had no intention of ever making a difference again, this was one loss too many he had said, she had promised him that night that she would support him in this decision. However she knew, more than most, the universe without the doctor is a dangerous place, far more so than one with him. She had hoped his recent visit to Professor Song would rekindle his need to do as he had always done, to run. Run across the stars blazing a trail through the universe, falling through time and space saving it, one catastrophe at a time. However it seemed only to strengthen his resolve, and so it fell to her to concoct a plan to coax him back into action. And she knew just how to do it, for it is well known by all who know him that the doctor does not wander the stars alone. She would have to find the perfect remedy to his unwillingness to allow anyone to accompany him. She would have to find the perfect companion.

xXx

Strax was confused. Not that this was a particularly unusual occurrence, Strax was often confused. The daily routines and activities of the "primitives" who inhabit the remarkably small planet of London seemed to defy all logic Strax could call upon. Which it must be said wasn't exactly in an abundant supply. Each morning the one he had taken to referring to as "the human armed with letters" would knock on the door, insert the letters into the bizarrely lo-tech teleportation device on the door and they would suddenly materialize in the same place on the other side of the door and fall onto the small, rather quiet fur-beast that the jenny-one called "mat." It was, Strax thought, a perfect example of inferior human workmanship, it seemed anything bigger than a letter was impossible to transport using this method .It also never once exploded, despite Strax's initial high hopes for it, this "door" device was a complete and utter disappointment." Are you fussin over that letterbox again Strax?"  
Strax turned to face the human known as jenny. "It is no box! also it would appear something is stuck," The sontaran licked his lips, rubbed his hands together and bent down to further examine the object trapped in the letter "box."  
"What on earth are you doing Strax?" Madam Vastra appeared suddenly at the bottom of the stairs, Strax quite visibly jumped in surprise and attempted to regain his composure as quickly as possible, it would be most shameful to let the natives witness such a blatant sign of weakness, "he's botherin the letter box again ma'am," jenny cut in before Strax could respond.  
"Something has become ensnared in the teleport device, I am attempting to remove it for interrogation," Strax snapped, he thought this would have been obvious.  
"Oh goddess is it something living?" Vastra exclaimed as she hurried towards the door.  
"Couldn't say, one swift plasneumatic bolt to the head should fix that either way!" There was a sparkle in Strax's eye as he reached for the nearest projectile weapon (much to madam Vastra's dismay he had littered the house with all forms of dangerous sontaran weaponry, she had, with jenny's eternal understanding and assistance of course, removed them, Since then Strax had taken to hiding them in plant pots and behind various ornaments)  
"Wait Strax!" Vastra cried, snatching the weapon away, then knelt down and with a remarkable amount of delicacy, she pulled, from the letterbox, a blue envelope, it was sealed with red wax. The envelope was stretched around its cylindrical contents, obviously the reason for it becoming stuck. Vastra eyed the envelope carefully, holding it up so that the rays of the early morning sun illuminated it, she turned it over in her hands, her eyes scouring every inch of it. When at last she seemed satisfied, she turned to her companions with a stern expression, "I must be alone a while." She turned to exit the room, jenny called after her, "What is it ma'am? The letta, what does it mean?"  
"It means we have less time than i had hoped my dear, I must begin immediately, without distraction."  
Jenny felt somewhat crestfallen, she understood the importance of her mistress' work, and why it was of utmost importance that she complete it without interruption, but she could not shake the feeling she was being left behind in all the drama, she silently chastised herself for her selfishness, this was beyond her, bigger than her, the fate of the entire universe hung in the balance, and it was up to her mistress, and, to a lesser extent, herself and Strax to fix things, to make things right. She attempted to push the thoughts out of her mind as she stepped out into the street. It was time for her to play her part in all this, after all the mysterious smoke wasn't going to investigate itself now was it? Strax looked out into the street jenny had just taken, and then to the door madam Vastra had gone through, he shrugged, he hadn't been given any specific instructions, making now the perfect time to admire his impressive collection of explosives. He went to close the door, upon doing so he was met with a loud gasp from the street, he looked up to see an elderly woman, open mouthed in shock staring at him. "What is it boy?" he snarled "didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to stare?" and with that he shut the door.

xXx

Vastra sealed the door tightly behind her. An expression fell across her face that was a mixture of fear and anticipation. She closed her eyes and tore into the envelope. Inside was a thin vial of green liquid, Vastra carefully placed the vial on the desk and paused. It was here then, the blood of a dangerous insectoid life form commonly referred to as a "memory worm."  
She suddenly felt a chill go down her spine, somehow she knew what the vial contained, and she had been expecting it, but she knew neither why nor how, nor did she know what she was to do with it. Something stirred in the back of her mind, a half remembered dream, a memory that had almost completely faded, nothing more than blurred shapes. It wasn't much, but it was enough to set her on edge. She carefully placed the vial in her pocket and headed towards the spiralling staircase that led to the basement.

xXx  
Elsie was excited. Her heart raced in her chest as she thought of what lay ahead. If all went well then she could quit her job as barmaid at the rose and crown, things were finally looking up. Not that the rose and crown was a bad place mind, but she wanted more out of life. She had told Bill, owner of the rose and crown, that she had urgent family matters that required her attention. The truth of course, was very different; she had seen an advertisement in the paper for a position up at the old factory. The details were vague, but the wage was too good to turn down, the paper had said anyone wishing to apply was to be at the factory for 10 AM sharp and that the interview process could take several days. She was greeted at the gate by a young stern faced woman, "I'm ere for the job?" she stammered, she could see no one else around and was starting to worry that she had come to the wrong place.  
"I should expect so," the woman replied, she eyed Elsie up and down and circled around her, Elsie could not help but feel uneasy, she couldn't put her finger on it, but something about this woman sent a chill down her spine, her gaze was piercing, it was as if she could see into Elsie's very soul.  
Elsie shuddered, she could not help herself, she felt her stomach twist perhaps that would count against her, maybe she would not be hired after all, she was no longer sure she even wanted to be hired. Suddenly the woman stopped, "mmm yes, you will do nicely I think."  
"d..does that mean I'm ired ma'am?"  
The woman gestured for Elsie to follow her into the factory.  
"That's one way of putting it," she remarked. Had Elsie been facing her she would have seen the grin the crawled across the woman's face. It was by no means a kind grin, indeed, had Elsie seen it she would doubtlessly have turned and ran home that instant. However she did not see the grin, and as she passed through the door the fate was sealed. The door creaked shut behind her, there was a blinding flash of green light. Elsie screamed in horror as it wrapped around her and then…it was over.

xXx

Jenny stared at the building in front of her. They had traced the smoke to this location; it was something to do with this factory. Hardly a great base for evil goings on she thought to herself. She heard footsteps and instinctively hid behind the nearest wall, it provided the perfect vantage point for what she was about to witness. The woman, whose footsteps jenny had heard, walked past her, apparently oblivious to her existence, and up to the doors of the factory. She looked around nervously; jenny ducked her head behind the wall so as not to be seen. She did not look again until she heard the voices; there were two, two female voices. Talking to the first woman was another, younger woman. Jenny knew immediately that something was wrong; something in her gut told her the younger woman was somehow involved. Suddenly the doors opened and the younger woman led the other inside, Jenny felt a shiver run through her body, she wanted to call out, to tell the other woman not to follow, to warn her. But she knew that in order to stop whatever was happening they first had to find out what it is they had to put a stop to. The door closed, seemingly on its own accord, green light tore its way through the cracks in the door and then vanished again in an instant. It was accompanied by a terrified scream that was cut off far too soon.  
"May we help you with something?"  
The voice came from behind her. Jenny turned around, and there, right before her eyes stood the woman from the factory.  
"Thank you ma'am, but I'm just headin home."  
"Oh? Well, I'm sure you understand why I cannot allow that."  
"Begging your pardon ma'am, but what do you mean by that?"  
"Oh come now, I don't have time for such childish games, you have been spying on me."  
"Well then ma'am, it would appear there is no need to pretend, I know what you did to her, that woman I mean, I saw it"  
"Really? How fascinating and what exactly did you see might I ask?"  
"You killed her," Jenny blurted out her response before thinking.  
The woman raised her eyebrow and then let out a laugh that turned Jenny's blood to ice.  
"I assure you my dear, she is very much alive."~  
"And why should I believe you?"  
"I see you require some evidence before accepting this to be true, you are indeed wise," her lips curled once more to form that cruel, malicious smile, "ELSIE! Come here my dear, don't be shy."  
A figure stepped out of the shadows from behind the woman and stepped into the light. It was the woman from before, but she was different somehow, her eyes were cold, lacking any hint of life, and yet she moved as though she were still living. Once upon a time jenny would have thought such things impossible, but ever since that fateful day, when she first encountered her beloved Madam Vastra, she had seen all manner of things she previously would have found unbelievable.  
"What ave you done to her!?," Jenny cried  
"Oh you silly little girl, whatever makes you think you could possibly begin to understand, I wouldn't worry though, soon you'll be just like her."  
"I shouldn't think so ma'am" Jenny replied calmly.  
"Oh my dear, whatever made you think you have a choice…TAKE HER."  
Before she could react Jenny was forced to her knees from behind by two unknown assailants. Despite her struggling she could not get free, she looked up to see the woman towering over her, holding a syringe filled with green liquid.  
"Who are you?" Jenny gasped as she felt her strength fading.  
"I am your future," She grinned once more, plunging the syringe into Jenny's neck. Jenny felt dizzy, she felt body become ridged, she collapsed onto her side, the world around her spun out of focus.  
"Goodbye ma'am," she whispered, a tear single tear slid down her face as everything turned into darkness.


	3. Chapter 2: the dead woman

Having been quite active throughout the night, madam Vastra was beginning to feel tiredness weigh in; her thoughts were becoming less focused. She reached into the top drawer on the nearest desk and felt around inside until she found what she was searching for. To anyone unaware of its use it appeared to be nothing more than a perfectly ordinary candle. However it's true purpose is one of great wonder. Lighting the candle releases a soporific which seeps through the skin and straight into the bloodstream, rendering the recipient unconscious, forcing them into a sleep-like state. It unlocks certain areas of the mind relating to the memory and enables a peculiar form of mental time travel, the designated "host" constructs the surrounding environment from their memories, anyone under the influence of a similar, or indeed the same candle can then be allowed access to the "host's" memory room. It is an exceedingly difficult process, the constructing of a memory room that is. Madam Vastra was one of a relative few who was proficient enough to be able to alter and manipulate the dreamscape with relative ease. Though she had never seen evidence to support her theory, she was quite sure The Doctor would also possess expansive knowledge of this technique. She was also fairly certain he would disprove of such a thing being used. She let out a sigh the betrayed her frustration in relation to the doctor's current apathetic outlook. However if it was to be of use in ensuring his reintroduction to the universe, then she was willing to use any means at her disposal to make his rejuvenation a reality. She reached into her pocket, and from it drew a single match, she struck it across the table, causing the tip to burst into flame, she lit the candle, which now stood before her on the desk, she slowly lowered herself into her chair at an appropriate distance, so that she might inhale the soporific gases and ease herself into her position as host. It was to be a one on one conversation, something Vastra was not accustomed to using her candles for; however, her conversational partner was one of great importance. Someone who knew the doctor better than most, perhaps (and almost certainly in his current state) even better than he knows himself. Vastra's scaled eyelids closed as she entered the dream state; she conjured up the backdrop to their conversation from her memories, the Taj Mahal now seemingly stood behind her. It was a good memory, one of her favourites; it would do nicely she thought to herself as she called a teapot into being, after all she was the host, and she had a reputation to upkeep. It was quite possible that when SHE arrived she would desire refreshments, though of course she did not need them, being dead does rather take away ones need for such things. Not that it mattered either way of course, the tea was a mere figment, a dream construct, it was not in fact real. In this respect it was quite similar to the woman herself. She appeared suddenly, with a loud bang, smoke curled up around her momentarily and then dissipated. Madam Vastra could not help but noticed she seemed somewhat flustered by her own, characteristically overdramatic entrance, further evidence that she was not quite what she once was.  
"Welcome professor song, I do hope you find the environment to your liking," Vastra spoke without making eye contact with her, instead carefully pouring herself some tea.  
"Madam Vastra, it's been an awfully long time since I last saw you, why I was still living if I am correct," Vastra's own unease seemed to reassure River, her features glowed with her total confidence that might as well have been her trademark.  
"might I offer you some tea?"  
"it's ok, I've got it," River's eyes narrowed for a moment, as though she was concentrating, another blast of smoke and a wine glass appeared in her hand, she brought it to her lips and took a sip through a smile that could not hide her enjoyment, it had been many years now since last she had a real person to interact with, and she was intending to enjoy every second of it.  
"So, to what do I owe the pleasure of being summoned, I highly doubt it's social, we've never been what you'd call friends."  
"It is a matter of great urgency, concerning the doctor."  
River frowned; her eyes seemed to glaze over as she stared off into the distance  
"of course it is, it always does."

xXx

Magnificent! Strax thought to himself as he admired the wide array of explosives that adorned the walls of his sleeping quarters. All manner of things that would cause any enemy of the great sontaran empire to be reduced to dust, it was a thought that made Strax feel warm inside. Of course he had his favourites, his grenades in particular, such a fine piece of weaponry. True he had suffered the indignity of having the title "nurse" bestowed upon him, but he was a sontaran none the less, war was in his blood, he was a mighty warrior at heart, one day he would prove himself by crushing the life from some worthless natives, one day he would command respect, one day!...Strax turned around and walked straight into a low hanging beam and fell flat on his back. He quickly looked around to make sure no one had witnessed his embarrassing tumble, he could see no one, and let out a sigh of relief. Then he saw it, that blasted creature had seen him fall.  
"YOU FUR-BEAST! You will not utter a word of this to anyone of I shall obliterate you!"  
The cat eyed Strax for minuet, seemingly evaluating whether or not he was a threat, then, with a single meow, it ran over him and jumped onto the top of the fire place, turning to face Strax once more, watching him with emerald eyes that burned far brighter than the fireplace ever would. Strax never could understand why the reptile woman had taken such a liking to this disgusting creature. It made about as much sense as her bizarre affection for the jenny human. The cat had almost completely merged with the shadows, its thick black coat serving as the perfect camouflage in such a situation. Curses, thought Strax, realizing he had lost the advantage to his feline adversary.

,

xXx

"So why have you contacted me? I mean obviously you want my help, but why me, at this point in my timeline I mean, it wasn't an accident was it?" River smirked.  
"I assure you, it was no mistake that led me to contact you as you are, and in fact I had no choice."  
River raised an eyebrow, these were not words she expected to hear from Madam Vastra.  
"No choice? What do you mean?"  
Vastra paused for a moment before responding, she stared into her tea carefully choosing her words.  
"For reasons I must confess not to understand, the only part of your timeline I can interact with is you as you currently are."  
"What? That isn't possible"  
River's eyes betrayed her concern. The only conceivable reason for her previous selves to be unreachable would be…well it would mean…it would mean her previous selves had been written out of existence entirely.

xXx

It would take some explaining to be sure, and would almost certainly bring on a scolding from the lizard woman, regardless it was a necessary course of action. Satisfied with this self-justification of his intended actions Strax chuckled to himself and reached into the plant pot and pulled from it a small (by his usual standards anyway) plasma pistol. He made his way back into the room where he would bring an end to that infernal creature once and for all. However after surveying the room for several minutes it became apparent that his feline foe had retreated to another location. Strax let out an exasperated sigh and turned to leave the room, as he reached the door he called out,  
"As you have chosen to retreat like the cowardly beast you are, I have no choice but to locate you and annihilate you as quickly as possible."  
He grinned cheerfully and started to walk up the stairs, he would have to keep his inevitable victory cries somewhat quieter than usual, after all, Madam Vastra did seem to object in the strongest possible manner to Strax being upstairs. It was probably due to fact he had hidden some grenades underneath her recuperation board, how a creature of such intelligence could fail to recognise simple strategic forward planning like that Strax would never know. Of course, one of them had gone off while she was engaged in a bizarre and confusing sort of ritual thing with the jenny one. Strax shook his head, these primitive species and their amusing rituals. A slow, pained noise emanated from one of the floorboards as Strax reached the top of the stairs, he winced. The majority of time Madam Vastra was a polite and sophisticated life form, however in the event she became angered…well, Strax for one did not wish to incur her wrath. Not that he was scared of her of course, what a ridiculous notion. He let out a nervous chuckle, then realized he had made a noise and looked around to ensure she was not there. Then he heard it, the click of a door closing, without thought, Strax threw himself behind one of the larger pieces of furniture and peeked over the top. There was no one to be seen. False alarm he thought to himself, nodding in effort to reassure himself. He stood up, it was then he noticed it, the door to Vastra's sleeping quarters had fallen open enabling him to see inside, there was only one window and it was thrust wide open. Though the sun was now beaming the air was filled with a sharp chill. Strax looked around once more to ensure he was alone and then stepped into the room. He gazed around for a moment, taking in his surroundings. The room was a pale white, in it's centre was Vastra's recuperation board or "bed" as she referred to it a deep black, with a dark curtain draped around it. Strax could not help but notice how much more pleasant it looked than his own, he stepped towards it hesitantly. Then, with one final check, he sat down on the bed, the matrass seemed almost to re-shape in order to accommodate his mighty form, it was sort, another manner in which his species differed from the indigenous life, they seemed far too preoccupied with insignificant matters such as "comfort" for Strax's liking. A sontaran has no need for such things, what a preposterous thought. Though, while he was here, on a serious reconnaissance mission for the glory of the Sontaran Empire, it surly couldn't hurt to investigate the sleeping arrangements of the natives. He slowly began to lay back on the bed. Then he bolted upright, if anyone saw him it would be most embarrassing indeed. Still, there was a certain appeal to the device. Strax lowered himself into a lying position. Actually not that bad he thought to himself as he stared up at the ceiling. His eyelids slowly descended and within seconds Strax was asleep.

xXx

As she spoke River's voice began to shake, though she was listening intently, Madam Vastra was finding it increasingly difficult to understand what it was she was saying. Then without warning it started to rain. If Madam Vastra had been concerned before, then she was positively terrified now, this was not possible. Their surroundings had been pulled from her very own memories, a very specific memory in which rain was not a factor, and as the host she alone possessed the ability to alter the state of the environment. River let out a scream of agony and flickered and then faded from view. The room began to shake violently; a thick black smoke began billowing out from the centre of the table, it twisted and contorted as it began to form a recognisably human-esque shape.  
The smokey substance began to fade away. Vastra felt her heart beat slow as she looked up. The smoke had cleared leaving a woman standing atop the table, a woman with cruel smile and eyes that were a luminous green and the face of Jenny Flint.  
"Madam Vastra I presume?"


	4. Chapter 3: The mystery girl

The door slammed shut. Strax bolted upright,  
"I'm sorry madam I was preparing an ambush and must have been tranquilized!"  
He looked around the room, there was no sign of madam Vastra, instead, at the foot of the bed stood the black cat.  
"Oh, it's you," Strax groaned. They each paused for a moment, then Strax leapt for his weapon and the cat leapt out of the open window. Strax stuck his head out of the window in an effort to follow the creature, he must have been asleep for quite some time as the sky was once again painted a murky black by the unexplained smoke, it would be quite impossible to find the animal now.  
"And remain elsewhere! Meddlesome beast!" Strax called after it, shaking his fist. A voice came from bellow,  
"OI keep it down!"  
"You keep it down, or I shall destroy you, you pathetic lifeform"  
"Watchyou say?"  
Strax remembered what Madam Vastra had told him about drawing attention to them, and specifically their home.  
"Be gone human scum, or I shall detonate this device"  
He waved the grenade out of the window and proceeded to drop it, it fell with a crash to the floor below, the unsuspecting human shrieked.  
"You're mad, mad as well as ugly! Throwin things, you ought to be ashamed of yourself!"  
"Ugly?," Strax muttered under his breath, "Now see here madam that is extremely rude!"  
Strax shook his head and was suddenly struck by a thought. If it was currently "night" time then how long had been in a state of unconsciousness, and why had the lizard woman not awoken him with righteous anger. He stumbled out of the room into the hallway, still feeling somewhat dizzy from his impromptu nap. The hallway spun around him as he pulled himself to along it, the door that previously closed of its own accord now hung open, there was a flickering green light coming from within. Strax pressed his hand against the wall to steady himself, the world around him at last stopped spinning. Cautiously he peered inside. Madam Vastra was lying unconscious on the floor; the green light spiralled around her menacingly, like a cocoon of intangible energy.  
"Madam!," Strax rushed over to her to check her vital signs, his hand passed through the green veil, which sent a shock through his entire body, sending flying backwards through the air and back into the hall. He lay there for a moment, eyes wide in shock. Getting to his feet he approached her once more and taking care not to make contact with the green barrier, he performed a medical scan. She was breathing normally, her internal organs all seemed to be functioning as they should, body temperature was as it should be. However there was no brain activity, it was as though she had been switched off completely. This was beyond Strax's abilities as a nurse, what she needed right now, was a doctor.

xXx

Windomatronic technology was not something the doctor had ever thought he would have a use for, and yet it had proved quite useful. Invented several billion years in the future on a small moon in transgaledric system by a scientist who had been attempting to invent a device that could produce perfectly prepared toast (how the human race had been able to grow and travel light years across the universe and still managed to fail at such a simple task was one of the few things that truly baffled the doctor to the point of speechlessness. Needless to say things went a bit wrong, the resulting invention enabled him to manipulate the wind, providing a very useful way of transporting airborne objects without actually moving them. The doctor had utilised the device in order to park the Tardis on top of a cloud, after all, landing it there would have been impossible, it would have fallen through the thin squishy cloud. However, by using the windomatic he was able to stabilise the wind to a point where it would hold the Tardis in place, and even allow him to, at least appear to, walk on the cloud. The cloud provided the perfect location to park his Tardis, no one could reach it, or indeed him here, on occasion he would probably visit madam Vastra, but that was why he had installed the spiral staircase. He sat in the control room, he feet up on the console, engrossed in a book, "arch chancellor Thatch Boringer the 3rd's ergonomic displacement theory for the criminally dim"  
he did not move, except to occasionally raise an eyebrow in an expression of his bemusement. The Tardis buzzed and hummed softly, almost as if to remind him of her existence. A simple tome of this length should have taken the doctor mere seconds to read and fully comprehend, and yet he had been staring at the same page for hours. It wasn't as if he was particularly interested in the "ergonomic displacement theory" in fact, he wasn't even a hundred per cent sure what it was. He let out a sigh and looked up at the console's centrepiece, the tube that used to do the uppy-downy stuff, the tube that would never again move he thought to himself. The Tardis monitor was on, there was no particular reason for this of course, it just felt right, it wasn't as if he was looking for anything. At least that's what he told himself. Over and over again. The monitor was fixed on the street below, the day was drawing to an end, the thick black smoke had begun its descent, the street remained visible, if only for the time being. That was when he saw her for the first time. She passed through the screen's view so quickly, almost like a ghost. As she walked she had turned, almost as if to face him, her face was young, undeniably beautiful yet there was a unique strength to it. The doctor felt a twinge inside himself. In the old days he would certainly have picked her, but he couldn't allow himself to do it again, not after last time. He stared at the monitor for a matter of seconds before springing to his feet. Surely it wouldn't hurt, to do a little investigating, for old time's sake. With that he pulled a lever which deployed the staircase, spun round grabbing a top hat befitting the time period, he allowed himself a brief smile before stepping through the Tardis doors and making his way down the stairs, making his way back to the world.

xXx

As first day's went it had gone well, nothing unexpected or unpleasant had happened, which was part of the problem, it had just been so very boring. Admittedly sometimes un eventful and quiet was a dream come true, but you can have too much of a good thing. These were the thoughts occupying the mind of Clara Oswin Oswald as she began the journey home from her day's work at the Rose and Crown. She had met Bill several years ago, he had been distracted, and failed to see the out of control coach, Clara had pulled him out of the way just in time. How that led to her agreeing to cover for his regular barmaid she couldn't say, but she was sure at some point she must have done. Perhaps if she had not events would have taken a very different course, but the wheels of destiny where now in motion. Clara had no idea what made her turn around, it wasn't as if there had been a noise, or indeed anything that would serve to draw her attention, but regardless she turned to look. The light from the street lamp seemed to focus on the slender figure in the top hat standing behind her. Without thought she began to slowly walk towards the figure, who was simultaneously illuminated and cloaked in shadow. As she drew closer he looked up, the light catching his face for the first time. There was something about that face, it seemed familiar somehow.  
"Can I help you?" the stranger asked.  
Clara suddenly became aware that she was staring at him.  
"no, no sorry, I don't know what came over me," she shook her head and turned to leave.  
"Quite alright, "he replied, with a faint smile.  
Clara stopped, that voice, she could swear she'd heard it before, she turned to face him once more,  
"This might be a bit odd but…well, we haven't met before have we?"  
The stranger raised an eyebrow  
"no, I don't think so, no."  
"Right, of course, sorry, I'll leave you to…whatever it is you're doing" She paused for a second before continuing, watching as the stranger sniffed the air with a peculiar level of intensity.  
"What ARE you doing exactly?"  
He continued to sniff at the air before turning towards her with an expression of mild embarrassment.  
"Oh…i…I am trying to establish the location of cause of this smoke, judging by the wind I'd say it's," He took one great sniff of the air, before turning on his heel and point off in the distance, "in a generally that way sort of direction."  
"Blimey you're serious aren't you?"  
The stranger's face suddenly morphed into an expression one might pull after being insulted.  
"No, never knowingly be serious, takes the fun out of everything."  
"Alright keep your hair on!"  
"Maybe I will, then again maybe not"  
Clara couldn't help but smile at the bizarre gentleman in front of her.  
The stranger returned his own soft smile, a slight nod and a playful "yeah"  
He looked up at the street light for a moment In thought, before turning back to Clara, "what's your name?"  
"I only met you 2 minutes ago, what makes you think I'm going to tell you my name, you could be anyone," she replied with a scarcely hidden playfulness.  
The stranger attempted a serious expression; this provided a perfect demonstration of why he looked down on seriousness. Clara let a giggle escape her.  
The stranger looked confused for a moment, "Oi, what's so funny?"  
"Your face for one"  
"What's wrong with my face?"  
"Oh nothing, nothing, might want to watch that chin though"  
His hand shot up to his chin in an attempt to shield it from the abuse.  
"Leave my chin alone!"  
They shared a laugh, followed by a moment of silence. The stranger turned to leave,  
"Anyway, better be off, things to do and all that."  
"Clara."  
"What?"  
"That's my name, you wanted to know my name, well it's Clara."  
"Clara," He spoke her name slowly, almost as if examining it, "good name, you should keep it."  
"Thank you, I intend to, what with it being my name."  
"Well then Clara, have a goodnight," he said, and with that he turned and walked away from her.  
"You know, I think I will,"  
With a giant smile she turned to continue her walk home. There was a thud, it seemed to tear through the air itself, and she turned once again, in the direction the sound emanated from, before she was aware of her own actions she ran towards the scene in front of her. The stranger was lying flat on his back, a horse draw carriage standing over him. The driver, whose face was hidden under a black hood, climbed down from the carriage and pulled the limp body from under it. Clara's pace steadied as she drew closer. She had never seen a dead body before, but she imagined it was a fairly safe assumption that the stranger was indeed dead.

xXx

The doctor was starting to regret his spontaneous decision to leave the Tardis. After all, the chances of him being hit by a carriage were considerably reduced within those familiar walls. Still, never one to think such things through he had left the safety of the Tardis and promptly been struck down by a carriage of the exact sort he was unlikely to encounter from within the Tardis, typical. Still, the ground was surprisingly comfortable, not nearly as unpleasant as one might think. However before he had the opportunity to further contemplate his current predicament he felt a pair of unusually thick hands grip his ankles and drag him along the ground which, it has to be said, had a significantly reduced level of comfort when in motion. Still somewhat dazed from being struck by the premier vehicle of the day, even his exceptionally perceptive senses were in a state of oscillating jumble-y ness, but he could hear sounds that he was fairly confident were voices. One of the voices was raised, probably shouting, humans did have a tendency get awfully shouty, often without due cause.  
Finally he could feel his hearing returning to normal, and as expected there was a shouty human shouting unnecessarily.  
"He's dead!, you have just killed someone! What do you mean remain calm!?"  
"Quiet lad, I am attempting to revive him!"  
"Well, I am by no means an expert, but I think it's a little bit too late for that don't you."  
"Ugh, this device is capable of things your puny human mind could not possibly begin to comprehend!"  
It rather seems like this bickering was going to continue for some time unless he put a stop to it. The Doctor sat up a suddenly as he possibly could with an enthusiastic yell, both of the arguing parties cried out in shock.  
"Wait, that's not right, you were dead, I am pretty sure you were dead"  
"Sir, I am 99 per cent sure the human is correct"  
The Doctor needent have said anything, his face conveyed his disgust at the thought accurately enough, still, being the doctor, he felt it nescassary to reinforce this point.  
"No, me, dead, ha that I'd like to see, just dazed that's all, knocked all my inside-y bits around, still not your fault you didn't know."  
"And what do you mean by that? Oh because I'm a woman I couldn't possibly understand such complicated things, is that right?"  
Before the doctor could respond strax cut him off, he stared at clara with both eyebrows raised.  
"Wait…so….you're a female one?"  
"what? Of course I am!"  
"oh I'm sorry lad, I couldn't tell"  
"And what do you mean by that! You know, you're not exactly handsome yourself mate"  
Strax seemed to be concentrating, he opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it once more before the words finally came to him.  
"you are completely sure you are a woman?"  
"OFCOURSE I'M SURE"  
The Doctor, thoroughly amused by the absolute train crash (or would a more fitting term be carriage crash) of a conversation unfolding before his eyes let out a chuckle. Clara turned to him,  
" Oi and what are you laughing at chin boy," she pointed her finger menacingly in his direction at a distance The Doctor found most discomforting. He turned to Strax in an effort to change the course of the conversation.  
"So Strax, what are you doing here, besides running me over I mean?"  
Strax opened his mouth to expel the reason, and yet once words failed him. He stared into space intently before his eyes suddenly widened.  
"Ah yes sir, Madam Vastra is in a bizarre state of not one hundred per cent dead, but almost, and the Jenny boy has not returned to his post," He said, finishing with a satisfied grin, oblivious to the horrified expressions on the faces of both The Doctor and Clara. The Doctor sprung to his feet, his face became engulfed in a silent darkness.  
"Goodbye Clara, I have to go now, c'mon Strax."  
"Wait, I can come with you, it sounds like they need help, your friends I mean."  
"Yes, yes they do, but it's a very specific kind of help it's very dangerous, and I can't allow you to come with me."  
It was Clara turn to be offended, "Oh so you can't allow me eh? I'll have you know I am quite capable of making my own decisions thank you."  
"But you can't!"  
"If you are quite finished, I believe your friends are in need of some assistance"  
The Doctor looked for a moment as if he had a witty response, but somehow it escaped it.  
"Right, yes…good, ok, but just this once!"  
"Are we going now sir?, the beast is growing impatient," Strax said, nodding towards the horse.  
"Yes Strax," he looked at Clara, a bright excited grin beamed back at him, he reached up slowly, there it was, it had been a long, long time since he had worn it last, yet there it was.  
"Time for one last run," and with those words he straightened his bowtie, climbed inside the carriage, pulling Clara in with him, the door slammed shut behind them as the carriage thundered down the street back to the house of Madam Vastra.


	5. Chapter 4: The madman's box

This was becoming quite ridiculous, the strange spud man was one thing, but this woman was green, and covered in scales, like a lizard. Clara wasn't sure how this was possible, she had so many questions, and yet, looking at the doctor's face she knew now was not the time.  
"I don't believe it, it's happened again, it was supposed to be safe, if I just stayed here…but it made no difference."  
As he spoke Clara could hear the aching sadness in his voice, there was a look in his eyes, and he suddenly looked far older than he possibly could be, his eyes they were truly ancient eyes. There was a bright green light surrounding the unconscious lizard woman that was almost painful to look at, Clara found herself straining to take in the scene unfolding in front of her.  
"What is it, that light?"  
"Oh that's nothing special, some kind of force field is should imagine, the more important question is, why is it green?"  
"Why Is that and important question?"  
"Dunno, but why green though, green is terrible, the standard colour for force fields is blue, all across the universe. Blue blue blue blue blue blue blue, so why is this one green"  
"Nothing wrong with green"  
"Green isn't a creative colour!"  
"Well your friend is green, who is she by the way and…what is she?"  
"That's Madam Vastra She's a Silurian"  
"Ah that explains everything," Clara's words positively dripped with a sarcasm which The Doctor was typically oblivious to, engrossed in examining the glowing green light surrounding his friend.  
"Yes, perfectly natural, which is more than can be said for her current state?"  
He frowned and then reached into his jacket pocket and took out a strange silvery bronze contraption, it made a loud buzzing sound and green light illuminated the tip, it flickered as he ran it along the force field, which grew brighter before fading from view completely with a soft crackling noise.  
"What is that?"  
"OH this? It's my sonic screwdriver"  
"Alright, sorry I asked"  
"It is! That's what it's called"  
"What does it do, how did it make that weird light dissapear and why is it green if you hate green so much?"  
The Doctor stopped what he was doing and stared at Clara in disbelief.  
"I don't hate green, why would I hate green?"  
Clara returned the stare of disbelief, glaring at the strange man in front of her, who she had met less than an hour ago, and yet felt oddly attached to. That was when she realized.  
"You know, I think it's a bit unfair"  
"Why is me not hating green unfair?"  
"No, not that, it's just, well… you know my name, but I don't have the faintest idea who you are, and yet here I am following you into some stranger's house, you could be completely gaga for all I know"  
The Doctor tugged at his bowtie in an effort to shrug of being referred to as "gaga."  
"I'm The Doctor"  
"Good for you, I meant your name, I don't know your name, what do I call you?"  
"The Doctor," He repeated impatiently, one day, just one day he would like to meet someone who accepted the fact that his name was The Doctor.  
"The Doctor is your name?"  
"Yes, blimey you don't half ask a lot of questions"  
"Well what do you expect if you go around acting all weird?"  
"Weird? Weird? I'm not weird, I'm a mystery, an enigma if you will," He spoke with great enthusiasm, as if this was how he imagined himself to be, his words were accompanied by hand gestures and wiggling fingers which symbolized "mysteriousness."  
"Ha, no, you are definitely weird."  
"If I'm so weird then why are you still here?"  
"Maybe I find it funny"  
"find what funny"  
"Your weirdness"  
"I am not weird!, straaaax"  
Strax, who had been snoozing awoke suddenly, looking somewhat dazed  
"Yes sir, sorry sir, how may I be of assistance, do you want me to fetch the grenades?" He asked looking excited.  
"Oh right yes, probably the wrong person to ask actually, never mind"  
The excitement drained from Strax's face, he grunted and closed his eyes once again. There was silence for a moment before Clara spoke again.  
"Still, it makes sense I suppose"  
"What's that?"  
"That you call yourself The Doctor, what with you trying to trying to look after us all, to save us from *THE SMOKE*," She shook her head, displaying her scepticism regarding the whole ordeal.  
The Doctor smiled, it was an astute observation to be sure, though it had been some time since he had attempted to save anyone. Perhaps it had been too long.  
"You're rather clever aren't you?"  
"Don't sound so surprised"  
"Alright then I won't"  
"Good"  
"Good!"  
"So what's wrong with her then?" Clara asked, gesturing towards Madam Vastra's limp body.  
"She…is…empty"  
"Empty? What do you mean empty?"  
"Her body is giving off all the normal life signs, but her brain…is empty"  
"How can it be empty?"  
"I don't know, but everything is missing, her thoughts, her fears… her dreams."  
The Doctor stopped as realization washed over him.  
"Oh no, no no no, it can't be!"  
He ran over to the desk, where the candle stood, extinguished some time ago, he picked it up, running his fingers along the waxy surface, scouring every inch of it for what he needed to know, he held it up to the nearest lamp, and then licked it, causing his face to contort in revulsion before reverting to the expression that was a mix of inquisitiveness and terror. He began to frantically pace up and down, pulling at his face and hair, muttering to himself as if he were tearing through his subconscious for a long lost memory. He reached the door and stopped suddenly.  
"What have I done, I'm a stupid selfish old man"  
"Ok, I'm starting to think my first impression was right"  
"What does that mean?"  
"You are a madman!, and you certainly aren't old"  
"Oh but I am Clara, I am so very old, but you are right"  
He turned to face Clara, with a grin so large it could cause his chin to burst into emerald flames through envy.  
"I am a madman, but not just any madman!, no, because I have this!"  
He activated his sonic screwdriver, then there was a noise, a noise the likes of which Clara had never seen before, the room was engulfed by a sudden wind, papers were sent flying about the room, the lamps seemed to flicker in and out of existence. And then a soon as it had started it stopped. Clara, who had ducked beneath a desk, slowly look up at the impossible sight before her.  
"What…what is that?"  
The Doctor straightened his bowtie.  
"It's my box! Because you see Clara, that's who I am, all I ever have been, just a madman with a box, but I will tell you one thing, just one thing, the only thing anyone ever need know, under no circumstances should you ever, ever think, even for the most fleeting of moments that I would ever abandon my friends. Now whatever did this to madam Vastra, whatever it is that's taken jenny is almost certainly the cause of the smoke, which means they are up to something bad, probably dangerous, Probably a threat to the whole planet, which means they have to be stopped, so I'm going to stop them."  
Clara stood next to the doctor, looked at him and smiled.  
"Well then, we had best be on our way."  
"We?"  
" You have just finished telling me that whatever is causing that smoke is a potential danger to whole planet, what makes you think I'd trust you to fix it on your own?"  
"Well then Clara, welcome to the Tardis."  
The doctor took her by the hand, threw open the doors and together they walked through the doors into the light.

xXx

First there was the rumbling, such a familiar sound, louder than any thunder. Then it struck, blown by the sudden gust of wind. The chair had been thrown across the room, colliding with his face, sending his own chair backwards, propelling him into the air, only to fall with a great thud. It was not quite the wakeup call Strax was used to. He awoke just in time to see the Tardis begin fade from view.  
"Sir, wait! What about me! I'm fully trained for combat….SIIIIIIIR!"  
He ran at the Tardis as fast as he could, cursing his legs with his every breath, it was there, close enough to touch; he was going to make it. THUD. He had ran straight into a wall, and for no less than the third time this evening he found himself lying on his back, wondering where his life had gone wrong.

xXx

In the transendedric quadrant there is a species known as ,the mandibulions, a curious race evolved from penguins, who after thousands of years became similar in appearance to humans. They are famous for their unique, and it has to be said, somewhat bizarre defence mechanism. If a mandibulionian is surprised, or feels threatened b y any of the indigenous predators (of which there are many) it can quite literally drop its jaw. The lower half of its jaw detaches itself from the rest of the head and begins to secrete a highly attractive gas which will distract most predators while the now speechless mandibulionian flees. It is perhaps fortunate that this is not trait shared by humans, for if it was, it is quite likely that Clara's jaw would now be filling the Tardis with the thick, purple gas of attraction. Her eyes continued to widen as she gaped at the colossal room surrounding her, her mind buzzed with questions upon questions that only he could answer, a man she had met but an hour ago, a man who had quickly become the single most interesting man on the planet. The Doctor lent on the control panel with a smug look on his face, awaiting the inevitable disbelief and bombardment of questions.  
Clara raised her hand as if she was about to speak, she opened her mouth but what came out was a jumbled mess as all her thoughts and questions tried to escape all at once, the jumbled mess form a word, a singular word. It was not a word that had any relevance to Clara, yet it was a word she spoke.  
"Soufflé"  
The Doctor felt a chill down his spine, as if someone was breathing down the back of his neck.  
"What did you say?"  
Clara shook herself in an effort to organise her thoughts.  
"I don't know, but…what is this place, who are you, why is it smaller on the outside?"  
The Doctor suddenly forgot all about the mysterious utterance, this was a far more urgent matter in need of addressing.  
"It isn't smaller on the outside, its bigger on the inside…ooh look you've got me all confused now, no one's ever said that before."  
He giggled in a manner that Clara found uncomfortably close to that of an excited schoolgirl.  
"I don't know what to say! This is a first."  
"Well you could answer my questions?"  
"That I could, I'm The Doctor, and this is Tardis, my Tardis, it's how I travel"  
"And where do you travel?"  
"Oh, anywhere, everywhere, sometimes at the same time."  
"Like America?"  
"Oh I'm talking about far more impressive places than America, America's easy."  
"I don't think so; you hear interesting stories don't you, about over there, across the pond."  
There it was again, the chill, only this time the cause was obvious. Who was this girl, everything she said seemed so perfectly tailored to him.  
"So these people, who are causing the smoke, how are we going to find them?"  
"Right, yes!," He clapped his hands together and began fiddling with the mass of dials and levers covering the giant centre of the room,  
"The sonic picked up high traces of somnium radiation, I'll just get the Tardis to do a search for high somnium readings, once we find the highest output we'll have found them, though I very much doubt they're people, at least as you think of people."  
"What are they then?"  
"If I'm right, and I should mention that I usually am, something very bad, oh and I forgot to mention this," He turned to face Clara with a mischievous look in his eyes,  
"but you might want to hold onto something."  
With that he pulled a heavy looking lever next to him, the entire room seemed to thrust itself forward, Clara fell onto a rail and began to cling to it, light was flickering past at unbelievable speed, visible only through the small windows on the doors. Clara closed her eyes, then she felt it, she could feel that they were spinning around and around. And in that moment she began to wonder if she ever wanted it to stop.


	6. Chapter 5: The Impossible Room

The room was spinning around, violently shaking from side to side; sparks erupted from the floor as though it was threatening to fall apart. Clara clung to the rail for dear life, fearing if she did not then she would be sent hurling through the walls out into whatever lay beyond. The Doctor on the other hand seem to revel in the destructive scene, running around the circular centrepiece, pulling levers and pushing buttons laughing like the madman he proclaimed himself to be. By rights Clara should have been terrified to be locked in a room with such a man, but instead she found herself enjoying the company of the company of this eccentric creature dashing about in his impossible box and spun uncontrollably. His manic laughter, which should have sent her running for the hills instead made her feel oddly safe, not safe enough to let go of the rail perhaps, it was a sensation she felt words could not accurately capture. Before her eyes the room seemed to be ripping itself apart, she watched as one of the great panels on the wall became engulfed in a ball of flames.  
"Is that supposed to be on fire," she shouted in effort to be heard over the din as more wall panels spontaneously combusted.  
"I expect not!, " The Doctor replied with what could very easily be construed as glee. The ship lurched forward sending The Doctor flying into the rail, a crazed look in his eyes, Clara was right, he was enjoying himself.  
"Are you alright/?" he was shouting to be heard over the grumbling of the ship.  
"Oh, yes, perfectly fine," she replied and the floor persistently attempted to cast her into the air and send her hurtling across the room, it was a thought that made her tighten her grip on the railing, she couldn't help but think that the tighter her grip on the cold metal bar grew, the more her grip on reality was slipping away.

xXx

She had of course be warned, both by her gentleman associate and, unintentionally by the thoughts of her current body's former owner, one Jenny Flint. She had been warned that by removing miss Flint and her scaley green companion from the picture she was likely to attract a great deal of unwanted attention, unwanted attention that could very easily pose as a threat. Needless to say her opposition thus far had failed to meet the expectations she had built up in anticipation. A clumsy sontaran nurse was hardly worth worrying about. But this, this was something else entirely, the technology, it was advanced, so very advanced, and most certainly not of this world. The mysterious blue box had appeared in the yard outside. It was a curious thing, it appeared to be made of wood, though she suspected foul play was involved, how could such glorious readings come from a rudimentary wooden box. She had been monitoring it for an hour and yet no changes had occurred, and, to her knowledge, nothing had emerged from within. If it was her attention they wanted (whoever they might be) then they certainly had it. Due to the nature of its sudden arrival she was inclined to think it was some form of space craft. Perhaps she should have been more thorough when probing the lizard's mind, still it couldn't be helped, that insufferable man had taken it upon himself to visit during her absence. She despised him, as she despised the majority of the life forms on this worthless planet, except cats, cats she had something in common with, cats are clever and share her general attitude towards humans. Still, he was a necessary evil, for now at least. Doctor he called himself, ha, what a pretentious title, had she skin of her own his engorged sense of self-importance would most certainly have got under it, still, this body would do for now. It was a strong body, and was not, all things considered, unattractive, such interesting memories as well; she'd seen a lot this one. The front door opened and a scruffy bespectacled man emerged walking nervously towards her.  
"Ma'am, I'm afraid the doctor is growing quite impatient, I really must insist you see him now."  
"Oh? Insist all you like, but you need to remember one thing Arnold, just one thing."  
She reached out softly, gently running her hand along his cheek, she licked her lips and gazed seductively into his eyes, she'd known the boy was a fool, but he always made it so easy, he relaxed feeling the nerves leave him. Her hands found their way to his throat, she grasped it tightly, not tightly enough to kill him, but tightly enough to be sure, he gasped for air.  
"Ma…ma…ma'am…please," he begged.  
Her lip curled into a malicious smile, the only constant between the many forms he had seen her take, aside from those eyes of course, those burning emerald eyes which now stared directly into his.  
"I give the orders around here, not you, now won't you run along and fetch someone to keep an eye on my new favourite possession," she spoke calmly, which made Arnold even more afraid, he had never once heard her speak with any other tone or emotion, it was like she wasn't even human. He took the opportunity and ran back inside. The smile faded from her face, only to be replaced by the grimmest of frowns as she made her way inside. The doctor was waiting.

xXx

Given a choice this was probably the last place the gentleman would have liked to have found himself, the whole place made him uncomfortable. The furniture, the layout, even the staff, and given the company he kept, this was certainly a remarkable feat. THAT woman was late again, sometimes it seemed as though she chose to be late just to spite him. He wondered whose face she would be wearing this time, she did so enjoy changing things up, no doubt to further unnerve him, still he would know her when she walked in, she always had those eyes, they were quite unforgettable. Then _he_ entered, that bumbling idiot boy of hers, Archie or Albert or something beginning with a, he had little interest in learning the names of the hired help, after all before long they would all be dead, even the woman, with all her cunning and all her plans would die when her usefulness ran out. It was the will of his master, and so it would be. The boy was mumbling some form of apology, most like due to the lateness of his mistress, it truly was a pathetic sight.  
"Boy, stop stammering, I cannot abide such things, now go and bring her to me at once"  
Arnold left with a final mumbled "sorry" to search for his mistress. Mere minutes later she entered the room, by merely doing so the temperature seemed to drop drastically, fortunately he was used to the cold. She walked towards him, seating her self in the chair opposite, grinning all the while like someone who had just been told a terrible secret. And so it was that he and her sat opposite each other, the wheel's of their great machinations now in motion, each plotting to end the other's life when the time came, when it was most beneficial.  
"I am so sorry to have kept you waiting doctor simian, shall we begin?"

xXx

Without warning the room began to shake in an increasingly violent manner, then, as soon as it had started the shaking ceased. Smoke billowed up through the floor and out of the control panel as the pillars began to collapse and the room became almost completely engulfed in the inferno.

"Right, might want to leave about now," The Doctor remarked, his eyes glazed over almost as though he were lost in thought before suddenly realising his home was crumbling around them, "Come on Clara!," he cried enthusiastically leading her by the hand out of the tardis. As the doors slammed shut behind them, he turned back to face the tardis, his face was sad, he gazed inside as though it were for the last time. The doors clicked, they had locked themselves, slowly the windows became obscured by thick white smoke.  
"Um…we've moved," Clara remarked as she took in the unfamiliar surroundings.  
"We sure have, unfortunately the Tardis won't be able to move again for about ooooh," the doctor simultaneously checked all 5 watches that were strapped to his right arm, "an hour"  
"Impressive" Clara said, with unmistakable sarcasm.  
"It is by your standards, much better than a horse drawn carriage, pah take Tardis any day…horses are fun though, but absolutely no match for this old girl"  
"Oh my, I do believe I hit a nerve"  
"You think your so clever don't you"  
"Well, you yourself told me so less than an hour ago," She grinned a grin that was just a little bit smug.  
"I've changed my mind"  
"No you haven't"  
The doctor smiled, "No you're right, I haven't…come on then"  
"Where are we going?"  
"To investigate! And look for clues"  
"Like Sherlock Holmes"  
"Yes, like Sherlock Holmes, I do love Sherlock Holmes, " The doctor grinned a surprisingly boyish grin that Clara found disarmingly charming, she smiled and followed him down the empty corridor, it was certainly not the most inviting place Clara had ever found herself, all dull wooden walls and doors, though it hardly seemed like the hideout of some great evil.  
"Are you sure this is right place?"  
"Of course I'm sure, I'm always sure, this is certainly the right place," had Clara been able to see The Doctor's face she would have known he was in fact not sure at all.  
"So what sort clues are we looking for exactly?"  
"ssssssssssshhhh…I don't know…anything…unusual"  
"like a giant purple octopus?"  
"Shouldn't think so, although it wouldn't be the first time, dreadful woman, good kisser though"  
"No Doctor look, in there!"  
The Doctor turned to face the door, which hung open slight, he gently pushed it open, slowly the door swung backwards revealing the contents of the room, Clara gasped and covered her mouth in shock at the grotesque sight in before her.  
"Oh," the doctor said, his expression was awash with sadness as he slowly closed the door.  
"Are they….are they"  
"Dead? Yes…yes I'm afraid they are"  
"But there were so many…so many bodies"  
"Yes, and all of them just left here, discarded," The Doctor's face seemed to glow with an emotion Clara had not seen before this moment, one she couldn't quite put her finger on but for the first time since meeting him she felt the slightest twinge of fear. Voices approached from the adjacent corridor, The Doctor pulled Clara into what appeared, on the outside, to be a small cupboard. They soon discovered that it was in fact, not a cupboard, but rather a teleport. An impossible room stood before them, towering futuristic machinery melded together with Victorian steel, buzzing with electricity and pumping out impossibly large amounts of smoke. The smoke was a murky dark colour, it trailed off across to room, exiting via the gigantic chimney which occupied an entire wall.  
"Doctor…what is this place?"  
"Some kind of laboratory, a mixture of alien and human technology, from all kinds of time zones…this could very well be worse than I feared, whoever is responsible for this has more advanced at their technology at their disposal than I thought possible."  
"Are you saying you can't stop them?"  
"Well, no harm in trying," The Doctor looked worried, he caught Clara's gaze and pulled then most confident face he could muster, reaching up to straighten his bowtie he began scanning the machines with his sonic screwdriver, running across the room until he reached a distinctive gold lever.  
"Ah, this should to the trick!"  
He pulled the lever down, as he did, alarms began to wail as the machinery began to spit sparks of flame. The door burst open and the boy known as Arnold tumbled in.  
"You! Sir! Not sir, intruder, what are you doing! You must stop at once"  
"Ah yes finally, so you've decided to grace us with your presence, excellent, now why don't you bring whoever is responsible for this rather magnificent, albeit horrific mechanical monstrosity down here, I should very much like to have a word with them."  
"Madam Morgan is very busy at the minuet, if you would like to make an appointment  
The Doctor thundered up to Arnold even as he spoke until he was close enough to hear him breathe, there was a fire in his eyes that filled Arnold with terror and yet he could not bring himself to look away.  
"No, no appointments, I need to see her now, Madam Morgan is it? Good to have a name, though I doubt it's hers, still, it'll do, bring her here, now"  
It took all of Arnold's strength to keeping himself from shaking, "wh..wh..who should I say is asking for her?"  
"The Doctor, tell her The Doctor is looking for her."

xXx

"You will have to excuse my lateness doctor Simian, I was not expecting you,"  
"You may dispense with the pleasantries miss Morgan, is the device prepared"  
"There is no cause for rudeness, the device is fully primed and ready, in addition a keyword has been issued"  
"Very good, what is the keyword?"  
She smiled a smile which completely failed to hide her venomous hatred for the gentleman who sat before her.  
"The keyword shall remain known only by myself until you follow through with your half of the arrangement."  
Doctor simian scowled, his patience with this woman had long since faded, however his master, The Great Intelligence made it quite clear that the device was required for the grand scheme to commence, so, to his great displeasure she would have to remain amongst the living for the time being. Arnold burst through the door, his appearance was rather dishevelled and he appeared to be out of breath.  
"Ma'am"  
"Arnold, what have I told you about bursting in unannounced, what will our esteemed guest think of us"  
"Oh, yes ma'am, sorry ma'am," Arnold panted, he then stepped back out of the room, closing the door behind him and knocking.  
"OH COME IN YOU IDIOT BOY!"  
He entered a second time, his head dipped slightly in embarrassment.  
"Ma'am, there is a man in the secret room, he says he's some form of doctor, he keeps…well, doing things."  
"You stupid boy, the doctor is already here," she snapped, pointing at doctor Simian.  
"Ma'am you don't understand, he has deactivated the machine."  
Madam Morgan was on her feet with impossible speed, her eyes glowed brighter than Arnold had ever seen them.  
"WHAT!?"  
Doctor Simian could not help smile, "should anything happen to the device, it goes without saying my master will be most displeased."  
She was fully aware of what that statement meant, she gave Simian a spite filled smile. She felt as though a great weight had been draped around her shoulders, to think that mere seconds ago everything had been going so well.  
"Very well, I shall deal with this "doctor," Arnold bring me the bodies, I have come too far to allow anyone to stop me now."

**thank you so much to everyone who been reading and left reviews! unfortunately the next chapter may take a bit longer as i have been experiencing laptop difficulties (ugh) i will try to get it completed as soon as possible :)**


	7. Chapter 6: A specter revealed

It was like watching a child at Christmas Clara thought to herself as she observed the scene unfolding before her. The Doctor twirled and spun, pulling levers and twisting the dials which covered the monstrous contraption.  
"So, I assume you know what that thing is then?"  
"Thing? Thing!? It's not a thing it's a multimindomiter and it's beautiful"  
Clara rolled her eyes, after the day she'd had so, she highly doubted things could get any stranger.  
"So what does it do?"  
"It sends a high frequency signal of energy, allowing non-life forms to maintain the mind of a living creature, highly advanced technology and illegal in more systems then you could even begin to count."  
The doors burst open as Madam Morgan burst in her eyes ablaze, as she entered the temperature seemed to rise, she was followed by a group of somewhat limp people, whose eyes glowed green and yet looked so empty.  
The doctors face appeared confused momentarily, and ever so slightly sad.  
"Madam Morgan I assume?"  
"You assume correctly"  
"What have you done with her with jenny"  
"Ooh you recognise this form? How very Interesting" she closed her eyes and inhaled, momentarily outlined by thin green light. Then her eyes flew open again, her face illuminated by an impossibly wide grin that was unmistakeably cruel.  
"Oh my, oh goodness me, this really is something. Hello Doctor, oh, we've never met face to face, but I know your people, and of course I've heard of you. Rumour has it they're all dead now, the mighty time lords, that they burned up and fell from the sky, is it true?"  
The doctor turned away, teeth gritted he mumbled his one word reply, "yes"  
"Oh that is such wonderful news, if I were still in possession of my heart it would surely be singing. And yet, here you stand, alone, but alive, how painful that must be, " she spoke her words slowly, fully aware of the pain they would cause.  
"And who are you then?, he asked, refusing to acknowledge her words, "that isn't your body, and I suspect you name is stolen too, SO the question is, what is your name, who are you really?"  
She closed her eyes, still smiling.  
"As the legends would say, you are correct in your baseless deduction, madam Morgan is indeed not my true name, merely an alias I assumed, an Identity I fabric with the intention of achieving my goal."  
"Care to share with the rest of the class?"  
"I have no name"  
"What, what does that mean, you have no name, how can you have no name?"  
"A bold choice of words coming from you doctor, my designation is six, I am the last surviving member of a species known as the nameless"  
A look of horror fell across the doctors face as he took a few steps backwards.  
"No, no no no, that is not possible, that is completely impossible, you are all dead"  
"Some people might say that in reference to you Doctor…though you are right of course, I'd hardly call this living, these human bodies can only sustain me for a while before they collapse under the strain, such fragile things. And of course it is thanks to your own people that my body is lost, another string of casualties in your petty time war."  
"You deserved it"  
"No one deserves to be like this!"  
The Doctor paused, he knew she was right, no one deserved to live like this, it was a fate far worse than death. He felt his anger subside.  
"Let jenny go, and I'll help you"  
"I can't let her go, and besides, I have no need for your help, I have already made arrangements for a permanent solution"  
"And that's what the machine is for is it, well then, you let her go, " The Doctor raised his arm, pointing his screwdriver at the machine's main control panel, his finger just above the switch that would activate it, "Or boom, everything you've been working towards goes up in smoke, no more body, no more final solution."  
In that moment, madam Morgan, or 6 as she had revealed herself to be, let out a cold, heartless laugh, which ricocheted off of the walls of the chamber.  
"You idiot, I don't need the machine, I've never needed the machine, it isn't for me!"  
The Doctors confidence suddenly crumbled, turning to dust.  
"What?"  
"I don't need a machine to assume control of a foreign body, all I need do is enter their dreams, really quite a simple method. The device is for my client, whose assistance was vital to my long term plan, however, I no longer have need of his services, not now that you're here."  
"Yes, yes that's right, come with me and I can help you, just let Jenny go"  
"Ha don't be so naïve, I don't need you to help me, you have already outlived your usefulness, after all I have this!"  
She clicked her fingers, and a huge metallic arm arose, through the floor stopping several feet in the air, in its grasp, the Tardis. The Doctor stared up helplessly as his oldest friend hung suspended above him.  
"You'll never get in, "he said, his voice no louder than a whisper.  
"Oh? I think you underestimate just how effective my methods can be"  
"No no no, you can threaten me all you like, it won't do you any good"  
"I wonder, She paused, "Tell me doctor, how well do you understand the workings of a Tardis"  
"Well enough to know you'll never open those doors"  
"You know you really are quite the disappointment, I don't need to. Did you know, that Tardises can dream?"  
"What? No they can't, that…that's, ridiculous, that would blow a hole in universe...," he paused, then unable contain his goofiest grin yet, it exploded across his face, overcome by sudden wash of excitement, "TARDISES CAN DREAM, HA...OH ...OH…oh…ah…that is not good"  
He ran at full speed towards madam Morgan in an attempt to stop her, but two of her most intimidating henchmen pushed him backwards, she turned and smiled.  
"Goodbye Doctor, it has been… underwhelming," her mouth and eyes opened as wider than anyone would have thought possible, green light shot forth, twisting and reshaping until it formed a humanoid shape with no physical mass, just emerald flames constantly dancing and twisting, yet still remaining in shape. She moved through the air with impossible grace, heading straight for the Tardis. In that moment the Doctor felt truly helpless, there was nothing he could do to prevent it, he closed his eyes in an admission of defeat. There was a loud whirring of machinery and a thump that was almost deafening, The Doctor opened his eyes and it was there right in front of him, close enough to reach out and touch, his Tardis.

Blasted wall the disgruntled sontaran thought as he climbed to feet and dusted himself off, scowling in the direction of the cause of his latest humiliation. At least no one was around to bear witness this time he reassured himself. A sudden moan echoed through the house causing strax to almost eject himself from his very skin in shock. He grabbed the nearest weapon from a fallen plant pot and cautiously headed in the direction of the sound.

Clara had always been especially good at spotting bad apples. She knew immediately that woman would be trouble, thinking on her feet she hid behind one of the gargantuan contraptions that filled the room. She soon became aware however that she was unable to hear or see what was happening from her current vantage. She began making her way, as carefully and quietly as she could, through the cover of the machinery until she found herself behind Madam Morgan, crouching low behind a vast control panel. She would have been fully justified in taking advantage of her position and attempting to flee, but the thought truthfully never occurred to her. A zombified Hench man approached one of the giant levers, just a hairs breath away from Clara; however he did not seem to notice her as she ducked out of sight. She watched as, following a click of Morgan's fingers, he forced the lever in multiple directions, causing the doctor's box to rise through the ground and be propelled in the corresponding directions. The controls seemed simple enough to Clara though she was not sure why. Seconds later Madam Morgan's body erupted with a bright light and a spectral entity left her body and flew towards the Tardis, without a second thought, Clara seized the lever and thrust it in the doctor's direction; the Tardis was sent hurtling through the air towards him. Clara allowed herself a triumphant grin but her triumph was cut short as she felt a hand fall across her mouth, her vision blurred and she felt herself slipping away into an unexpected sleep.


End file.
